It is aimed at creating a Nusantara (archipelago) maritime village in Soop IslandSorong, W Papua (ANTARA) - Several navy personnel from the third Fleet Command in Sorong City, West Papua Province, conducted a community service in Soop Island this week, according to a navy officer.
The community service program has been conducted since March 16, Assistant of the third Fleet Commander for Developing Maritime Potential, Col. Budiarso, stated.
"It is aimed at creating a Nusantara (archipelago) maritime village in Soop Island," Budiarso remarked in Sorong City on Thursday.
During the community service, the navy personnel improved road sections and renovated school buildings and houses of worship, he pointed out.
The personnel also explored the maritime potential in local communities and provided free health services and staple food packages to the Soop islanders, Budiarso remarked.
Creating a maritime village in West Papua is part of the third Fleet Command's endeavors to follow up on the Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff's programs, Budiarso stated.
The community service also demonstrates the navy personnel's care for local communities in West Papua and their emotional attachment to them, he remarked.
ANTARA noted that Indonesian soldiers in Papua and West Papua are necessitated to multitask, as the government works incessantly to address the issue of regional disparities in development between them and other provinces.
To this end, soldiers deployed in these two eastern provinces are mandated to be responsive in seeking solutions to problems and challenges faced by Papuan communities in their daily lives.
The soldiers are required to play the role of problem solvers for the local communities amid their central task to defend the country's territorial integrity and guard the safety of all Indonesians.
Sharing land and sea borders with Papua New Guinea (PNG), Papua and West Papua's geopolitical and geostrategic positions are indubitably important for Indonesia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The development of human resources in Papua and West Papua remains a tricky challenge, as the Human Development Index scores of these provinces remains lower than that of other provinces in Indonesia.
Referring to Indonesia's 2019 Human Development Index, Papua and West Papua recorded scores of 64.7 and 60.84 respectively.
Literacy-related community services offered by the Indonesian soldiers since several years have contributed notably to the regional and central government's endeavors to enhance the quality of human capital in Papua and West Papua.
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Ernes BK, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
